Federal Protective Services took extraordinary measures to prevent
disruption of the Commission meeting by planned protests, barring
access to about 30 members of the public. FPS also banned the use of
recording devices, brushing aside FERC’s own rule expressly
permitting it. Two people were escorted out of the meeting room,
five detained and three arrested.

FERC’s actions occurred after the last several Commission meetings
were disrupted by protesters who object to FERC’s no holds barred
approval of gas infrastructure projects, such as interstate gas
pipelines. May’s meeting was originally scheduled for Thursday, May
21, but it was moved up a week to thwart a protest planned by
coalition group Beyond Extreme Energy, which has stepped up the
pressure on the formerly obscure agency.

Denied entry to the auditorium, demonstrators took it to the lobby.
Their loud chants of “Shut FERC down! Shut FERC down!”
were heard in the background.

Well, they were prevented from entering the room to petition
the government….

Security for the “open” meeting was tight. FPS officers
recorded each person’s name and phone number and searched bags
thoroughly. Dozens of peoples were not allowed into the meeting room
are were instead directed to overflow rooms, even though empty seats
remained in the auditorium. Security personnel had singled them out
by affixing blue dots to their name tags.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,
shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon
probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be
seized.

Back to the story:

People from several states, including Virginia, North Carolina,
Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, had come
to FERC headquarters to voice their concerns. Norris said that about
half of those barred had never been there before. He speculated that
electronic surveillance of BXE communication may have put those
people on a list to be culled from the crowd. “Someone is
looking over their shoulders,” he said.

Many of these extremists believe the debates over pollution, protection of wildlife, safety, and property rights have been overshadowed by the promise of jobs and cheaper oil prices.

Well, FERC just blocked people wanting to raise such issues from petitioning for redress of their grievances.
Seems to me FERC is the extremist here.
The protesters are patriots standing up for their homes and their constitutional rights against pipeline invaders from far away.
Molon Labe!

First Amendment, Fourth Amendment: somebody ought to sue FERC, FPS,
and every other party involved in blocking access to that open meeting.